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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29071395">Beholding Filth</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyFireForever/pseuds/SkyFireForever'>SkyFireForever</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Magnus Archives (Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Child Neglect, Eventual Romance, Friendship, Gen, Murder, Other, Romance, The Corruption Fear Entity (The Magnus Archives), The Spiral Fear Entity (The Magnus Archives)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 09:34:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,308</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29071395</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyFireForever/pseuds/SkyFireForever</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Colin Bouchard grew up under the Eye, serving his father to the best of his ability. But when he realizes that his father isn’t all he seems to be, he turns to something else. </p>
<p>Featuring OCs from spiralingfilth on TikTok!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Fear Entity Avatars (The Magnus Archives) &amp; Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Beholding Filth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Daphne Merideth wasn’t the most ambitious person in the world. She dropped out of school when she was fifteen and never looked back. She spent most of her day sleeping or mooching off her relatives and most of her nights partying at bars and clubs. Sometimes she worked, but she could never seem to hold a job for long. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She was twenty-three years old and she’d never done anything with her life. She’d never had a steady job, couldn’t hold onto friendships, and didn’t much care about any of it. She was living life just to have fun with it. In her eyes, she didn’t have much of a future to look forward to, so why not waste her life away? </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One such night in which she was planning on getting </span>
  <em>
    <span>very </span>
  </em>
  <span>drunk, she visited a bar. It was one of many bars she was planning on visiting that night and it was the third bar she had come to that night. She was leaning against the bar, smiling and trying to catch the eye of anyone who seemed interested. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was how she spotted a man with messy blond hair and brown eyes. He was sitting at the other end of the bar and nursing a drink when he glanced up and spotted Daphne. Daphne flashed him a smile, causing him to blush and look away. He was the perfect target. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Daphne sauntered over, sliding into the seat next to the man. She brushed her own blonde hair behind her shoulder and peered over at the man through her eyelashes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” she greeted with a charming smile. “You’re dressed pretty nicely to be in a place like this.” She gestured to the seedy bar around them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, well, I came here right after work,” the man admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. Daphne didn’t miss the slight slur to his words, indicating that he was already several drinks into his night. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Daphne hummed, twirling her hair around her finger and pretending to sound interested. “And where exactly do you work?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, uh, the Magnus Institute.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Magnus Institute?” Daphne raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that the supernatural place?” She didn’t believe in the supernatural. Never had and never would. “Why do you work there?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s a pretty cool place, actually. I mean, most of it is bullshit, but it’s good fun. We get some pretty weird people who come in.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I bet.” She chuckled. “What’s your name, or should I just call you Magnus?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Elias. Elias Bouchard.” The man - Elias - offered his hand for her to shake. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Daphne.” She left it at that, taking the hand offered to her and shaking. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Pretty name for a pretty girl.” He winked at her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She laughed, having Elias exactly where she wanted. “Oh, is that so?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a little more banter, she managed to get him to buy her a drink. And then another. And another. They spent the whole night talking and laughing. Daphne found herself quite taken in by this man, enjoying how laid back and easy to laugh he was. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As the night wound to a close, Elias took her home. They smoked some pot together before things got more heated. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The next morning, Elias gave Daphne his number, but she never planned on reaching out again. They’d had their fun, but the fun was done. She expected to put the whole thing behind her and never think about it again. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was, until a few weeks later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Be negative. Be negative. Be negative,” she pleaded with the pregnancy test as she waited for it to reveal its answer. She couldn’t bring herself to look down at it, too afraid of what she might find. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She took a deep breath and finally looked down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Two pink lines.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Positive. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Fuck.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She didn’t even know if she should tell Elias. It wasn’t like he was important in any way. He was just some guy that she hooked up with. It wasn’t as though he would help her with the baby, right? He’d probably just tell her to get an abortion or put the child up for adoption or something. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But she couldn’t keep this from him. It didn’t feel right. </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So she called him up and asked to meet him in a cafe a few blocks from her house. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She waited nervously for him, fidgeting with her napkin and stress eating her third muffin. She looked up as he entered, waving him over. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey.” She forced a smile. “How’ve you been?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve been good.” He took a seat. “What about you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, I’ve been doing.” She laughed awkwardly. “Okay, I’m going to cut the crap and tell you why I called you here.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Please do.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m pregnant.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was a moment of tense silence as her words sunk in. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh. Oh, shit.” Elias exhaled shakily. “And it’s…” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yours, yes.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Right. Okay. What are you going to do?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Daphne blinked a few times, surprised. “What, you mean you’re not going to tell me what to do?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No. It’s not my decision.” Elias shrugged. “It’s yours. But I support you, whatever you decide.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh.” Daphne hadn’t been expecting that. “I… thank you.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She sighed. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she admitted. “I don’t think I’d be a very good mother, but I don’t know if I could just give the kid up.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, you wouldn’t be doing it alone.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What do you mean?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean that I would be there. I would help. It’s my kid too.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Daphne smiled a bit, relieved and touched. “Thank you, Elias.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah. I mean, I’m not the most responsible person in the world, but I’m not giving up on my own kid. That is, if you decide to keep it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Thank you. Really. That means a lot to me.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He shrugged. “Don’t mention it.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Daphne did mention it. Over and over again. And at every turn, Elias was there for her. They formed a close friendship over the months, with Elias being her closest confidant. Daphne might have even fallen a little bit in love with him. Though, her feelings weren’t reciprocated. That was okay with her. She was just glad to have him as a friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He even let her stay with him when she was evicted for being late on rent. It was nice, having someone who cared for her this much. With each passing moment, Elias became more and more excited to be a father. And Daphne worked harder to become a better mother. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She worked hard to keep a job, to keep money flowing in so she could afford to care for her child. She even earned a raise. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When their child was born, they named him Colin. Colin Dustin Bouchard. Daphne thought it was only fitting for him to take Elias’ last name after everything Elias had done for her. Elias was honored. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Colin was perfect. A happy, curious little boy. Daphne and Elias split custody of him, making sure they each had an equal amount of time with him. They both loved him so much.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>By the time he was two, he already knew how to get himself into trouble, always wanting to see everything and everyone around him. He toddled around, getting into everything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>One day, Daphne drove Colin to give him to his father. She knocked on the door and Elias answered. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, Eli.” Daphne grinned. “Sorry I’m late. Colin decided to play hide n seek without letting me know.” She shook her head. “But we’re here now and-” She cut herself off, taking a long look at Elias. “Wait, are you wearing green contacts?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Elias grinned, but it was something cold, malicious. So unlike the warm and friendly smile she was used to from Elias. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She felt a prick on her neck and then everything went black.</span>
</p>
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